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Sunday 16 January 2011

TV Formats and Top Gear

Presenters and Presentation Style

1.       The 3 presenters are Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson and James may who are all middle aged men.  Through the BBC, they would offer their target audience with entertainment with car information which is a key value for the BBC through the TV license everyone pays.

2.       Typical items or features include, car comparisons, track races, analysis of various cars and competitions such as testing the best mode of transport to a specific place. The audience attraction could be that they invite well known celebrities to do a lap on the track and create a ranking with other celebrities.

Strengths of each platform  -

a.       Broadcast – offers a variety of different segments within the hour which an audience can enjoy. They also produced a Australia version within the company ‘Freehand’ which brought them an overall increase in the amount of viewers and interest into other platforms
b.      Print – Produced a magazine in the UK and Australia with ACP publishing. This was successful as it drives more sales and income within the BBC and the programme itself. It also complemented the online version which then became a primary dual strategy.
c.       E-media brings a lot of interest to those who like searching information on the go for example on their iPods. It creates a different aspect for audiences such as interactivity with the show and presenters.

5.       The platforms work together the fact that a variety of audiences can enjoy different ways of keeping involved with Top Gear throughout the week rather than for just an hour a week. They all promote each other in different ways which helps the success and future for the show as a whole.

6.       As there is a variety of entertainment over the 3 platforms, the audience benefit from this as they are able to gain a greater interest and follow the TV show and be ‘knowledgeable’ about when the shows are. Also subliminally, they create opinions and therefore share with others which is an example of secondary viral information. This can drastically increase the popularity for the show. The audience benefit from the pleasure they receive from watching and sharing with others around them.   

7.       The producer benefits a lot from the audience taking interest over the 3 platforms. As e-media, broadcast and print all promote each other, that developing interest is always increasing which means that the producer realises the benefits in itself such that the ‘viewer count’ on the broadcast is potentially increasing each week. It also proves to the BBC how an informational programme can be successful and be ‘regular’ in the future. The producer can feel privileged and motivated to create more ideas to keep the success going.

Top Gear Article: Post Modern or Past it?

·         Masthead – the masthead font is simple yet effective due to some letters being coloured within it. It is written all in upper case which allows it to stand out amongst any other writing which then also allows the reader to gather the key topic and information of the article and whether they would take interest into it or not. You could connote that the filled in letters suggest a real in depth article without any ’holes’ or mistaken or missing information in there. It can create a sense of truthfulness from the initial reading.

·         Typography – the main typography within the article is mostly san serif which can be co notated as modern. As this programme reflects up to date information about cars therefore being modern, reflects the style of writing used. The writing style can be considered as subtle however from a reader’s perspective; it attracts them to indulge into the reading if it looks more appealing to them.


·         Camera Angle – the main image uses a long shot as we can see a full length image and pose of the 2 presenters alongside the background behind them. In my opinion this image is very effective as it allows the readers to acknowledge the full picture and appearance of the article and the show.

·         Central Image – analysing the actual image tells us about the ‘emotion’ of what the programme involves. The 3 presenters are posed to be looking confident, knowledgeable and friendly. In my opinion the image is quite inviting and interactive even though it’s still which reflects the main success and aim to why it was taken in such a way. It primarily draws in the audience to understand what the article and show our about.


·         Layout and Design – Lastly, the overall layout of the article is very simple, masthead followed by an image then three small columns of writing. Sometimes writing less creates a greater interest for the readers as it is ’short and sweet’. Less writing is more appealing but at the same time, it can offer just as much information needed. The 3 columns also separate the amount of writing making it look less for the readers. The simple layout can always interest the most readers.


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